The notion of selling someone’s real estate without them knowing might seem far-fetched, but attempting the scam isn’t difficult. And this year, they tried a brazen tactic in Southern Nevada and around the country: selling other people’s land behind their backs. Scammers are always looking to make easy money. However, critics said it would do little to force companies to pay the tax, in part because the bill raises the issue of intent. Joe Lombardo in June signed the bill that requires payment of the tax if a property was shifted to a business entity that was “formed for the purpose of avoiding those taxes.” Nevada lawmakers tried to close a tax loophole after the Review-Journal found that casinos and other properties, mostly on or near the Strip, had sold for huge amounts without producing a dime of real estate transfer taxes. Construction would resume once financing terms were finalized, he said.

But construction of the hotel-casino ground to a halt this year after the developers’ funding plans stalled.ĭream developer Bill Shopoff said in March that construction had fully stopped at the site and that he owed about $25 million to $30 million for work on the project. In a market packed with huge resorts, Dream Las Vegas hopes to offer a smaller, boutique experience along the south edge of the Strip. Whether it was a stalled casino project, a marijuana Ponzi-scheme case or a rising real estate scam, Las Vegas had no shortage of investigative business news in 2023.

Williams was an executive with marijuana business WeedGenics, which was accused by the SEC of running a Ponzi-like scheme.

Patrick Earl Williams, a rapper known as 'BigRigBaby,' is seen in a photo from his website that was enclosed in a court filing by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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